DaVinci Resolve Studio played a crucial role in data management, quality control, and creating offline material during the production of "Shin Ultraman," a film based on the iconic tokusatsu series "Ultraman." The movie, directed by Shinji Higuchi and supervised by Hideaki Anno, utilized Blackmagic Design's technology to streamline various aspects of its post-production process.
Takuto Watanabe's Workflow
Takuto Watanabe, the DIT for "Shin Ultraman," leveraged DaVinci Resolve Studio for data copying and quality checks. He employed the software's clone tool to duplicate footage and conducted playback in Resolve to ensure consistent quality. The application also served as a reliable platform for creating offline material, which was essential given the extensive use of multiple cameras during filming.
"DaVinci Resolve is an easy and dependable data management hub," Watanabe stated. "I used its clone tool for copying footage and performed quality checks using Resolve itself. This confidence in the software's reliability was crucial for our production."
Data Management Challenges
The film required significant amounts of data management, with roughly one terabyte of recorded footage per day. The inclusion of low-data footage from iPhones added to the complexity. Watanabe addressed these challenges by manually adding reel names to camera footage that lacked embedded metadata and burning timecode and other information onto the recordings using DaVinci Resolve's customizable settings.
"We used various cameras for different angles, including a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K for tokusatsu shots," Watanabe explained. "DaVinci Resolve allowed me to manage all these projects seamlessly, even after software updates."
Post-Production with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Tsuburaya Production released several short promotional movies titled "Shin Ultra Fight" on their streaming platform TSUBURAYA IMAGINATION. Watanabe handled the post-production for these CGI-heavy shorts, including color correction and online editing, using DaVinci Resolve Studio 18.
"For these short films, I focused on grading and adding effects with ResolveFX," he said. "DaVinci Resolve's magic mask feature was particularly useful for tracking kaiju and aliens accurately."
Watanabe highlighted the efficiency of using a single application for complex tasks, which significantly reduced his working hours. The software enabled the production team to meet the director's demands promptly, facilitating quicker decision-making and effective collaboration.